Hamilton International Airport

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by HamAviMech

Dec 15th there's a ground breaking ceremony in the terminal at 1pm and something outside if the weather is good. It's for a new hangar for Latitude Air Ambulance and I believe it will be built off of Dickenson Rd.

Another business growing at YHM.
(since they already operate from the airport, but nice to see they're getting a new facility)

I wonder if they'll increase their fleet?
http://latitude2009.com/ouraircraft/
http://latitude2009.com/faq/

[LikeHamilton]

Part of the new and expanded cargo ramp is now open. The first customer was a DHL B-777F from LAX,

[LikeHamilton]

Facility Expansion at Hamilton International

International aeromedical solutions provider plans to address growing need for specialized medical transfers with new hangar and office complex in Hamilton

Hamilton, ON (December 15, 2023) – Today, Latitude Air Ambulance (Latitude), TradePort International Corporation and Vantage Airport Group joined industry partners and community stakeholders for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate Latitude’s facility expansion at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (Hamilton International). Latitude is an internationally recognized leader in long-haul aeromedical services, including medevac evacuations and repatriation, commercial medical escorts, worldwide bed finding services and organ transfers, flying to over 130 countries across six continents.

Latitude commenced operations at Hamilton International in 2009 with a single Bombardier Learjet 35 ambulance aircraft, medically configured to include a full airborne Intensive Care Unit. Having grown to a total of eight aircraft and safely completing over 7,000 patient transfers across the country and around the world, Latitude has reached the point of requiring a dedicated facility and today breaks ground on its new 44,000 ft2 Fixed Base Operation at Hamilton International. The new facility will include an aircraft hangar suitable for maintenance and storage of all aircraft in its fleet, provide needed space for medical equipment and storage, and include an office complex for administration and training purposes. Construction is anticipated to be completed by late 2024 and Latitude is anticipated to increase its employee levels by 50% within two years of project completion.

2022 was Latitude’s most successful year to date, completing more than 550 missions with over 5,200 total hours flown. Latitude also facilitates hundreds of missions per year for Ornge, a vital part of the Province of Ontario’s healthcare system that includes patient transfers as well as organ retrieval services for the Trillium Gift of Life Network. Latitude also works with McMaster University and the Indigenous Children Eye Examination (ICEE) Program to support delivery of eye care in communities where resources and services are limited or difficult to access. Latitude currently employs over 100 personnel at its Hamilton International base, which includes registered nurses, respiratory technicians, doctors, pilots, flight nurse coordinators, maintenance engineers, duty officers, finance and administration, sales staff and the company’s management team.

https://flyhamilton.ca/latitude-air-...international/

20231215_133134 , on Flickr

20231215_133108 , on Flickr

20231215_141623, on Flickr

[HamAviMech]

When will the summer schedule be out from the airlines? Interested in seeing what Westjet and Lynx have planned out of Hamilton. Hopefully Lynx increases destinations as I read they're adding planes to their fleet.

[JakeLRS]

Originally Posted by HamAviMech

When will the summer schedule be out from the airlines? Interested in seeing what Westjet and Lynx have planned out of Hamilton. Hopefully Lynx increases destinations as I read they're adding planes to their fleet.

For now, WS will have 2x daily YHM-YYC service. The main summer schedule usually gets released in the first quarter so we might see something new. The winter schedule for YHM was released a bit late and was a separate announcement. I’m optimistic they’ll pick up some previous WS/WO routes but time will tell.

Lynx’s core schedule is out with YHM-YYC-YVR service 4x weekly. Time will tell if they bring back YHZ. YHM’s former president is a board member at Lynx, so maybe he’ll have some influence. They could also be waiting to see what WS does.

[JakeLRS]

Early Winter 24/25 Schedule uploaded on Westjet. These early schedule releases give a good indication of what WS will serve next winter but the
frequencies usually don't get finalized until the summer. It also gives a good indication of what routes are questionable/axed for the next season...

Calgary 5x weekly (Oct 28/24-Apr 28/25) Currently 5x weekly
Cancun 1x weekly (Oct 28/24-Apr 27/25) Currently 3x weekly
Orlando 2x weekly (Oct 21/24-Apr 20/25) Currently 3x weekly

Tampa and Punta Cana aren't listed for next winter at the moment. If I recall correctly, next winter we'll see the Westjet/Sunwing merger as well which also might affect some flights and decisions...

I had a dream last night that WS was going to announce Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, St Johns and Deer Lake for the summer while not picking up Edmonton. Dreams are visions of the future... right? Anyone with insider knowledge?

[HamAviMech]

I had a dream last night that WS was going to announce Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, St Johns and Deer Lake for the summer while not picking up Edmonton. Dreams are visions of the future... right? Anyone with insider knowledge?

I work at the airport but you are my "insider" lol. You get the information well before the airport releases it or before anyone I know that works for YHM.

Hopefully your visions come to true, plus some additional routes/airlines.

[ScreamingViking]

Most of the airport/airline posts on this site seem to be from "insiders"

The national airport thread has probably led to the majority of my Google searches (just for the abbreviations alone!)

Why would Deer Lake be a destination? Serious question.

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Most of the airport/airline posts on this site seem to be from "insiders"

The national airport thread has probably led to the majority of my Google searches (just for the abbreviations alone!)

Why would Deer Lake be a destination? Serious question.

Dear lake is on the westside of NFLD. St. John's is on the eastside. Lot of people who visit NFLD will go into one airport amd out the other.

[JakeLRS]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Why would Deer Lake be a destination? Serious question.

Swoop offered it for the past 2 summers and Flair has been doing it from Waterloo for the past 2 summers plus this upcoming summer as well.

Realistically, I don't expect WS to pick it up. I don't feel like that was a large yielding route.

[shoelessjoe]

Seasonal ops to places in NL like Deer Lake and Stephenville have been around for awhile -- it can work in the summer but not really in the winter. I don't really expect to see WS adding these types of services in the forseeable future -- domestically they have essentially retreated to their "fortress" in Calgary and their domestic operation is primarly focused on flights to/through Western Canada. Regional flying in this half of the country is gone...at least for now.

[JakeLRS]

Got a westjet promotional email this morning.
They claim they offer more weekly flights from YHM than all the other carriers combined. Fact checked; they offer 17 weekly, all the others combined run 17 as well (19 when Play goes back to daily).

They also included Las Vegas in their round trip CC offer… which I thought was interesting… could Vegas make a comeback?

Here was the email:

“ WestJet provides more service from Hamilton than all the other airlines combined, including non-stop service to 5 destinations this winter. Beat those winter blues and start planning your next trip.

Right now you can get up to $700 in WestJet dollars to save on travel when you get the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard‡ credit card (with minimum spend and anniversary bonus).* That’s enough to cover the base fare on a round-trip flight to Punta Cana, Las Vegas or Calgary, or for direct savings on any WestJet vacation or flight in our network.*”

[SteelTown]

PLAY to offer flights to Split, Croatia from Hamilton airport

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...879936358.html

HAMILTON, ON, Jan. 24, 2024 /CNW/ - PLAY, a low-cost airline operating flights between Iceland and Europe, has launched ticket sales for flights to Split, Croatia. PLAY's first flight to Split will be on May 28, and it will operate once a week, every Tuesday, over the summer.

This will be the first time that scheduled flights are operated between Iceland and Split and this is also PLAY´s first destination in Croatia.

From John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, Canadian passengers can fly to Split one way starting at $359. Travel for this new route will be facilitated through Split Airport in Croatia.

PLAY offers a streamlined, no-frills service without costly features such as magazines, Wi-Fi, and entertainment, allowing travellers to pay less and "play more." Rather than spending on travel extras, PLAY passengers can instead allocate their budget to the meaningful experiences, dining, or even excursions that make a trip memorable.

"Split is a dream destination for us at PLAY," said Birgir Jónsson, CEO, PLAY. "It has beautiful landscapes and a vibrant culture. I have no doubt this will be one of our most popular destinations this year. Everywhere we go, we give the competition a run for their money. We want to make travel more affordable and I am sure our Split services will be well received by Canadians who want to visit our beautiful country of Iceland."

[kwoldtimer]

Seems pretty random.

[Djeffery]

PLAY-ing with words lol. It's not a new service from Hamilton, it's a new service from Iceland. How silly would YXU look if they promoted a new service from London because Air Canada has a new destination from Toronto lol.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Seems pretty random.

You mean the destination? Not really. Croatia is a big European travel spot, especially along the coast. Split is almost Hamilton-sized and the second-largest city in the country. It's a pretty good spot to start a tour of the area from. I've gone to Zadar myself, and if I can't get there (it's seasonal), then I travel via Split. Their airport may not be a cargo hub like ours, but there are definitely more passenger flights.
Dubrovnik may be a more popular cruise destination, but they're getting overwhelmed with tourists, and they're pretty far to one end of the country.

As for announcing a transfer as a flight from Hamilton? Swoop did that quite a bit.

[ScreamingViking]

So what if it's a connection?

People need to know they can get there from here.

[JakeLRS]

Westjet's YHM-YYC service has been reduced to 11x weekly in May (down from 13x weekly). Sun,Mon,Tue will have a single departure.

Can't remember if If I mentioned, but Cancun and Orlando service was extended to the end of June this year with Westjet.

If Hamilton is getting any new/returning summer service with westjet, it should be announced in the next few months.

[LikeHamilton]

I see 14 flights a week for YYC – YHM in the schedule. Is this change still to come? Westjet is supposed to release YHM schedule on February 4 or 5th. They have changed their mind a few times already on the release date and destinations. I am predicting:

Calgary 2x daily (At one time they did 3x daily)
Abbotsford (Swoop did well on this) daily
Halifax daily
St. John's daily

No Edmonton or Winnipeg.

Apparently, Lynx is going to go to daily YYC and YVR for the summer.
Play is not adding any aircraft to their fleet this summer so there will be no expiation other than shuffling of destinations. They have 1 aircraft out of 10 parked for the winter. Out of 39 destinations they serve, 34 are available out of YHM via KEF. The other 5 are YHM, and the 4 US destinations.
With PLAY daily, that will be only 7 flights a day or 49 a week. YHM needs to average about 100 flights a week to get close to a million passengers a year.

So daily

1. Calgary (Westjet)
2. Calgary (Westjet)
3. Calgary – Vancouver (Lynx)
4. Abbotsford (Westjet)
5. Halifax (Westjet)
6. St. John's (Westjet)
7. Reykjavík (PLAY)

[JakeLRS]

Originally Posted by JakeLRS

Early Winter 24/25 Schedule uploaded on Westjet.
Calgary 5x weekly (Oct 28/24-Apr 28/25) Currently 5x weekly
Cancun 1x weekly (Oct 28/24-Apr 27/25) Currently 3x weekly
Orlando 2x weekly (Oct 21/24-Apr 20/25) Currently 3x weekly

Tampa and Punta Cana aren't listed for next winter at the moment.

Westjet adjusted the schedule again, currently Orlando and Tampa 1x weekly. Way to early to solidify that, but at least we'll get both Florida destinations next winter (for now).

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

Calgary 2x daily (At one time they did 3x daily)
Abbotsford (Swoop did well on this) daily
Halifax daily
St. John's daily

No Edmonton or Winnipeg.

If I recall, they only did a 3rd daily flight on two days of the week, so it was about 16x weekly if I recall.

WS always did YEG/YYC -> YHM -> YHZ/YQM daily prior to swoop. I'll be damned if they don't do YEG service.
With Halifax and St. Johns, I'd imagine they'd be timed with the Atlantic Europe flights.

Right now, nothing new has been loaded into OAG for the summer, but if history tells us anything, we should see it uploaded by the end of this week.

With your predictions, I'm curious as to if WS will base an (ex-swoop) aircraft here, or if they will do YYZ-YHZ-YHM-YHZ-YYZ pairings. I'd imagine the YXX route would have the aircraft based in YHM with it doing one of the Atlantic routes. I'm actually a bit shocked they will continue YXX instead of switching it to YVR.